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A site dedicated to discussing a variety of action & martial arts film entertainment. The written and expressive work of the author(s) of Film Combat Syndicate is/are protected by Copyright Law. To send us scoops or share your inquiries, email us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com.

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The January airing of the official dual episode trailer for the Chris Cowan and Haile Lee-directed martial arts fantasy series, Clandestine, drew humongous resolve for fans who have been long patient for this inspired new series to finally see some movement. And as for official dates, nothing yet has been confirmed as Cowan and Lee, co-founding members of Thousand Pounds Action Company and the creators of the series were since in the middle of grant their independent project the full potential of a mainstream television series.

I'm a little beside myself this morning as I just sat in front of some really intriguing news involving the fever-pitch campaign of enduring patience for any and all news regarding Mortal Kombat. Ever since filmmaker Kevin Tancharoen shook the fan community with news of his departure from the franchise, one could only assume what would happen next only after a seven-minute pitch trailer for a potential feature film, and a two-season Machinima webseries based on the highly popular game.

It's been a year and a half since the theatrical release of director Pete Travis's 2012 live-action thriller, Dredd 3D, made its way to critical acclaim and a level of fan-appreciation that only continued to amplify when the film's subsequent commercial numbers dimmed the hopes of an immediate sequel from Lionsgate. Since then, with fan films, webseries projects and sequel comics trickling out public, and a petition that just hit the 100,000 mark in support of a sequel for the 2012 film, conversations are being had that we know little in detail, if anything, about what is particularly being said with Almost Human star, lead actor Karl Urban, screenwriter Alex Garland and the Lionsgate execs in the room. And yes, it's frustrating to have to be this patient. But the important thing is that there are words being exchanged, and I suspect those details will come to us eventually.

Since the new year started, I've written quite a few times on some work recently released online featuring the action performance stylings of stuntman and actor Michael Lehr, a favorite of mine being his most recent test fight for LBP Stunts Chicago with stuntman Alex Hashioka. I've personally enjoyed writing about him, and needless to say, he's got some amazing things in the works this year, particularly for fans of Hong Kong action and MMA, in addition to a few other things I will continue to learn a little more about in further hopeful conversations in due time (even I have to learn certain things in a timely fashion).

Action fans and gaming netizens alike drew tons of excitment when the first official teaser aired just a few weeks ago for the upcoming online release of the new webseries, Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist. And with an official announcement still pending for its release date on the multi-programing YouTube platform, Machinima, a new solo Q&A was broadcast to the public featuring lead actor Mike Moh who stars as Ryu, where he talks about the casting process, the challenges he faced to assume Ryu's physical traits, martial arts skills, and much more.

I'm pretty sure that director Gareth Evans has earned the respect and admiration by now of every studio, critic and fan alive today who are witnessing the magic happening over in Indonesia with his star, actor Iko Uwais. Following the 2009 action adventure thriller Merantau came the production of their second stint together for Seruban Maut, a.k.a. The Raid. I saw the film on a whim back in 2012 at a last-minute discovery while sifting through movie listings, and lucky enough as I was to have caught it in my local theater, for this, I was also invariably overjoyed and overwhelmed.

It's been a little over forty years since TV Asashi launched Shotato Ishinomori's original Android Kikaider series, with several notable television, film, manga and anime transitions that followed, although a reboot of the original property has been in the works for some time now. This year however, with a script that reportedly took two years to complete, Tokusatsu fans now have something new to gloss over for the next several months with Muscle Heat helmer Ten Shimoyama's latest contribution to the genre in the form of Kikaider REBOOT, following a press announement hosted by Toei back in January.

Personally, I do not know enough about the current state of Brazil's film scene. However, I am aware that as far as the action films go, the genre does tend to flourish in some parts of the world more than others. Such was the case for Brazil-based independent filmmaker, actor and Filipino Martial Arts practioner Caio Fontes whose own realization of this came almost a year ago as he stepped away from Business Development before beginning his own efforts on YouTube to gain recognition as an action filmmaker, and more importantly, to join the fray among a select handful of other action filmmakers and change the trend. And so it went as of last month, with the latest release of his latest online shortfilm, Stray.

Writer and director James DeMonaco's is cranking it up this summer for the forthcoming release of The Purge: Anarchy. Following up the success of the first film which released last year, the sequel now takes the battle to the streets of a not-too-distant future America where in order to sustain record crime lows and economic highs for the rest of the year, the government decriminalizes all crimes, allowing the nation one night of virtually complete lawlessness.

With director Jacob Cheung's new film, The White Haired Witch Of Lunar Kingdom roughly a month away from its opening day, we now have a new, English-subbed version of the official trailer that went viral earlier this month. The film is well into its promotional cycle with behind the scenes footage, character posters and screenshots from the movie scattered all over the internet this month as the marketing continues to gear itself toward fans of two of Asia's most popular celebrities in recent years, lead actress Fan BingBing and actor Huang Xiaoming.

In the final hours on the eve of the official limited premiere of acclaimed producing/writing/directing powerhouse Gareth Evans's new film, The Raid 2, the team over at EMC Monkeys have put out something very special to mark the occasion in the form of their own special independent fan contribution simply titled The Raid: EMC Rendition. Shot in the course of three days, the new short is just one of several, highly popular contributions to Evans' vision within the last few years, most recently preceded by the stellar efforts of independent filmmaker Vlad Rimburg for his inspired short, Hammer Girl.

Kevin Tancharoen may have abstained from his former prospects as the hopeful director of a once-promised live action Mortal Kombat feature film, but his filmmaking days are clearly far from over as he has since moved forward with other creative ideas at his disposal. As such, we are now accommodated with Tancharoen's s brand new shortfilm, The Gable 5, which sees Dollhouse star and TV genre icon, actress Eliza Dushku as the unwitting subject of a government-sanctioned off-the-books experiment to find a way to end mankind's capacity for war.

Recent years have illustrated a pretty big, criticism-dominant mixture of reactions by fans toward producer Michael Bay's latest backing for director Jonathan Liebesman's new take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And indeed, a lot has happened since the classic characters were initially brought to life in 1990 with a film that remains, for devout fans, the best of the entire original film trilogy.

Following a trailer just unveiling last month, filmmaker James Lee unveiled his newest creation in the form of the action packed shortfilm thriller, Second Life. The project is one of several embody the workload highlighting the recent launch of Lee's independent film production and entertainment platform, Doghouse 73 Pictures, which already contains an impressive resume of shortfilms and ambitious new works spanning science fiction, romance, horror, and of course, spectactular screenfighting action.

Say what you will about Channing Tatum's look, or even the Wachowskis -- Lana and Andy and their cinematic vision. Today is the day we now have a brand new epic trailer for their latest release, Jupiter Ascending. Mila Kunis is the protagonist of this interstellar thriller which arrives July 18. And with the possibility of these two directors returning to The Matrix with a new trilogy, Jupiter Ascending could lead to some good prospects in that regard.

The new shortfilm arrived this week for actor, writer and director Moe Charif's latest shortfilm contribution, Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I'm not at all familiar with the video game, nor have I yet learned the state of this particular project as to whether or not it will go toward anything larger as far as a webseries or even a feature film. But for a live action adaptation based on a video game in an age where all film adaptations based on games are subject to particular scrutiny, this one appears to pleases the viewing masses quite a bit.

It's been almost a year since the screenshot above was taken from the set of director Gareth Evans's new film, The Raid 2, at the halfway mark of his seven-month long filming schedule. Today however, within days of the film's limited releases in New York and Los Angeles, we now have the complete scene from which that very same shot was taken in its explosive, bullet-ridden, bloody form as the director himself imagined it before it underwent the misfortune of being removed altogether from the final cut.

A new promo trailer aired on Tuesday for the forthcoming premiere of 24: Live Another Day, along with some brand new courtesy of broadcasting. This is the third of three promos aired so far since the last Super Bowl, and considering the audience the show has built since 2001, this particular special event is clearly looking to top itself.

A new trailer is here for the forthcoming release of director Doug Liman's newest live-action manga blockbuster, Edge Of Tomorrow. Fans will be able to check out the film on June 6th and provided that movie lovers approve, the film should set some precedence as Liman preps to helm the live action vidgame adaptation for thepreviously annouced Splinter Cell movie.

Actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been real busy as of late keeping close to the pulse of his fans through social networking ahead of promoting his next big screen adventure, Hercules. The official trailer premiered at CinemaCon this week, along with a whole new batch of footage of other films heading our way this summer. And today, the official trailer is now online courtesy of Machinima ETC.

It was back in February that I got to acquaint myself with actor and stuntman Bryan Sloyer who mentioned a few projects he was working on this year. One of those projects in particular would evidently include fellow action actor Jerry Quill and resident independent filmmaker and action director Emmanuel Manzanares for their latest collaborative short test fight effort, Bahad.

After roughly a year of production filled with more than it's share of challenges, it appears things are finally coming together with action star Donnie Yen's long-awaited two-part epic reboot thriller, Iceman 3D. And this week, we now have a proper trailer that says so, with a lot more to offer on the film's narrative than seen in previous footage, and should continue to garner further interest.

I won't pretend to know what the current state is with Vietnamese martial arts action cinema. Personally, I miss the prospects that were once there with Charlie Nguyen having amassed a world of interest with the much-hyped Bui Doi Cho Lon, now banned from the world courtesy of Vietnamese film censors (with the exception of an unsolicited online leak). Today though, we are offered a film of a more comedic nature thanks to the efforts of acting/directing duo Nhat Cuong and Ly Hai for Bi Mat Lai Bi Mat -- loosely translated as Secretly Secret (unless someone can provide a more informed interpretation), which looks pleasing in some areas, and purposefully goofy in others. At any rate, if kung fu comedy and high jinks are your thing, then by all means, enjoy.

The next X-Men movie based on Marvel's classic franchise has seen a rollercoaster of news since the first trailer made its way back online back in October, between an amazing slate of Empire magazine covers, Instagram teasers, character photos via Twitter, updates on actresses Anna Paquin and Halle Berry with all sorts of news and rumors regarding how much or how little we will see of their respective characters, Rogue and Storm, and so much more. It's a lot to keep up while trying to attain solid news as all the rest of us really want is to just see the movie.

2014 is giving filmgoers at least two Hercules movies this year. And with the first having already made the rounds courtesy of actor Kellan Lutz in The Legend Of Hercules, fans can now gather round for the latest, slightly scruffier, more meatier image below of actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as the titular character in director Brett Ratner's own spin on the classic mythological character, Hercules.

(Movie joke alert) I can only imagine how badly filmmaker Gareth Evans wanted to use actor Gary Oldman's voice for the last tweet at the very bottom. Nonetheless, the action cinema world's most favorite film director as of late has kindly taken to Twitter to see to it that the rest of us will know when and where we can catch his latest film, The Raid 2.

Following an earlier report on Friday stemming from several tweets and conceptual art samples, Chinese media forwarded new reports of the new film, now known as Feng Shen Bang. News of the film grew traction earlier on with at least two photos of concept art illustrating actor Jet Li and actress Shu Qi in their respective roles. Those updates now have some newly revealed concept images with reports that Ip Man 1 and 2 helmer Wilson Yip will instead be co-directing the film with Koan Hui in what appears to be the latest move toward fashionable big-budgeted 3D blockbuster productions, notably falling in line with the latest success stories, Stephen Chow's Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons, and this year's Donnie Yen smash hit, The Monkey King.

It has been known for a while that international action hero Tony Jaa would be collaborating a few times with blockbuster superstar Dolph Lundgren for a few major films as of last year, one of which includes the newest revenge thriller from director Ekachai Uekrongtham titled Skin Trade. And after just recently wrapping up principal photography, a sampler of film is now available in the form of an action packed montage which you can now view below courtesy of the official Facebook page for the film.

Things seem to be cooking for a while now for Luc Besson and his production company Europacorp going into 2014 with a few films releasing this year, including Brick Mansions and the August release of Besson's newly completed sci-fi action thriller, Lucy, featuring Scarlett Johansson. The company has also been busy formulating its partnership with Mark Gao Jingdong over at Shanghai-based film production and sales company Fundemental Films, with plans to produce and release a batch of new films, notably including the new Transporter trilogy with actor Ed Skrein that was announced in the summer of last year.

Action legend Jet Li has seen his fair share of career highs and lows; His most recent coming as the result of his current condition in the form of hyperthyroidism which forced the actor to step back from his normal physical routine, a move that also reportedly took a toll on his ability to stay in shape. As a result, while the 50 year old actor's career has given him plenty of space to relax and breath as he moves up in age, the future seemed a bit foggy as to whether or not fans would ever see Li do another action film, or more films at all.

If you look at any fight scene from a film or an online test fight such as the ones I have hosted on this site, they all have their own flavor and vision as per their stunt coordinators and choreographers and directors. Such was the case for the latest online gem brought to you courtesy of Microdrones-pictures, a company best known for its high-flying style and vision of cinematography by way of stuntman and stunt coordinator Ferdi Fischer, whose latest experiment is now available online, simply called Atlas Cam Fight.

We are a little less than a year since having seen the first few teasers go online for director Law Wing-Cheong's new film, Iceman 3D as the film's hectic schedule was ultimately split into a two-movie megaproject. And with the film finally heading to Singapore and China theaters next month, onlooking fans were presented with some brand new poster art with leading man of action Donnie Yen front and center with Wang Baoqiang trailing. Now, not only do we have a new trailer circulating the internet this month, but fans are also getting a new music video to promote the film in the form of "Icebound", courtesy of the vocal stylings of Taiwanese singer Jam Hsiao. You can look at both toward the bottom of the page.

Actor Paul Walker's tragic death has been a high point of focus for a few of the studios currently responsible for completing and promoting the late actor's last two films, one of which include the upcoming Parkour action remake, Brick Mansions. Unlike the forthcoming release of Fast And Furious 7, Walker had already completed all of the post-production work he was needed for on Brick Mansions within days before the sudden car crash on November 30, 2013 that claimed his life and that of friend and businessman Roger Rodas. And in the months since, EuropaCorp and Relativity Media made it clear that they would revamp their promotional campaign before it began so that they could promote the film in a way that would honor the actor's memory.

IGN hosted a brand new "internet-exclusive" trailer for anyone and everyone waiting to watch The Raid 2 when it comes out starting in limited releases beginning next week on March 28. There's some new footage in it that you might not have seen yet unless you've been to a film festival or two this year, and probably more than you might be willing to see unless you don't have an issue spoiling yourself just a teeny bit.

Audiences are no strangers to movie remakes and reboots, and there will be a few prolific ones for Asian audiences next month when director Jacob Cheng's new film, The White Haired Witch Of Lunar Kingdom gets its big screen release. With several versions of the iconic character having existed over the years, Distribution Workshop has since moved forward in promoting its film this year with a trailer already online to showcase the five-month long effort took to bring his latest 100 million RMB fantasy action adventure to life.

A second trailer has aired for Xu Hong Hui's new film Ameera which releases in China on April 4, 2014. We got a teaser a few weeks ago with a plot that sees actress Patricia Hu playing an agent on a desperate mission to foil a terrorist attack after failing her previous assignmemt. Regarding both the teaser and today's new trailer, while the suggested plot sounds good, there are some goofy looking its in them, including a seeingly mad villain that looks straight out of a Hanna-Barbera cartoon.

I don't know what this says about the film as a whole, but I am eager to learn more. And if there's anything that pops up, I'll be sure to share it.

With the first of two behind the scenes videos being aired this month, a second one is now up for the upcoming release of The Raid 2, which you can check out below. The new featurette shows a little bit more new footage of the action, and also offers a little more from writer/director Gareth Evans and the cast and crew on the editing process, details and experiences on certain sets, the score, and the "different kind of assassin" fans will see played by returning actor Yayan Ruhian, among other things.

I fully admit I haven't had the opportunity to see the first Rurouni Kenshin film that became a film festival favorite back in 2012 before a sequel was greenlit. So hopefully I will get around to that as the hype continues to build for the new films that are well on their way this year. And not for nothing either, as the sequels are becoming more and more anticipated by fans of the original manga/anime properties, and of the chambara film genre with a teaser already online as of late last year, and a new full length trailer which finally arrived this week which you can check out below.

With Alex Kurtzman and Drew Goddard tapped to bring together Spider-Man spin-offs for Venom and The Sinister Six, director Marc Webb is still in line to direct the third film of The Amazing Spider-Man universe in time for its June 10, 2016 release. But what about the fourth film? Yes, a fourth was also part of the slate dated for May 4, 2018, but it has since been reported that Webb will not be involved. So there's no word yet as to who the director will be as things are still early in their development.

Michigan-based independent production company Exxodus Pictures began promoting its latest fantasy action thriller, Jinn, just last month after years of keeping fans waiting. The film is currently geared for its April 4, 2014 release, it also turns out the company will be hosting a ticketed red carpet event in advance which will also be accompanied by Michigan native, filmmaker Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad.

Film producer and former Steven Seagal cohort Julius R. Nasso is looking to step back into the martial arts film foray once more with the forthcoming production of Darc, a new thriller to be directed by Damian Lee with actor and former Karate champion and multi-award-winning martial artist Tony Schiena starring. News of the production comes just sixteen years after Nasso met Schiena in London, where the actor also ran his own international security agency. Quoted in a new interview at the LA Times, Nasso says of Schiena, "I met martial artists all over the world during my tenure with Seagal. He's the real McCoy. He's got the credentials.".

It was after the tragic death of actor Paul Walker during Thanksgiving break on November 30, 2013 that with the shock and sadness came obvious questions pertaining to the late actor's last work on Fast And Furious 7 prior to its now-cancelled release date three months from now. Script rewrites became an issue with little known as to whether or not some characters would be written out or changed altogether. "They're having to rewrite, they're having to do whatever they're having to do to deal with the situation," said actor Kurt Russell quoted in BBC back in January. "It's catastrophic. It's the worst thing that could happen to a movie, ...but it's not as bad as what happened to Paul.".

Live-action adaptations of video games have had their fair share of lows and highs in the past several decades, with some films undergoing relentless criticism by fans of the original property. Nowadays, companies like Machinima have made a distinctive effort in changing all of that with several channels to its brand and a variety of programming tweaked specifically for its niche of online gamers and content consumers. And adding to that growing list this month is the announcement of new webseries in the form of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, loosely based on the 2011 game installation of the same name.

The Hallivis brothers - producer Julio and director Diego - already have an accumulating list of short film credits to their brand, with plenty more to check out at their official website. Adding to the list this week is the re-emergence of actor Johnny DeBeers who most recently appeared in an axe-wielding fight clip ahead of the forthcoming release of R.L. Scott's new film, Call Me King. Only now, DeBeers is looking to spill some blood at a more excessive rate as a heavily-armed badass government soldier on a ruthless hunt against a freedom fighter in the new Hallivis Brothers sci-fi fantasy action short, Shifter.

The North American limited theatrical premiere of writer and director Gareth Evans's new film, The Raid 2 is just a week and a half away with a wider release expected next month. I'm jusy going to say it: I envy everyone who has seen it other than me! The film screened over this past weekend here in New York City, followed by an event two days later at Apple Store SoHo, and were it not for the job (or my relentless cold this month), I would have attended. But, priorities remain.

News and updates on anything related to writer and director J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: Episode VII have been in a constantly fluxuating state. Names and faces of expected cast members ranging from original franchise actors Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrrison Ford, to some new names being circulated for a Jedi lead have all made headlines in the past few months. And with Inside Llewyn Davis actor Adam Phelps and 12 Years A Slave actress Lupita Nyong'o being heavily talked about to portray specific roles in the film, all we can really wait for is an official press release of some kind that will handle all the ins and outs of just what this new production will entail.

Whatever happens, don't ever take your eyes off of independent filmmaker and LBP Stunts Chicago founding member Emmanuel Manzanres. Because at the end of the day, Manzanares is a friggin machine when it comes to putting his direction and choreography skills to the test, working with innumerous professionals of the stunt field both in and outside his own team. I've covered his action gems more times than I can count on my blog as Manzanares has become more and more prolific over the years through the blogosphere with his contributions to the independent and mainstream action cinema world, and that coverage continues this week with his latest treat featuring performances by Brendon Huor and James Young.

Upon sharing his previous independent screenfighting endeavors with stuntwoman and actress Michelle Martins for LBP Stunts indie action lensman Emmanuel Manzanares back in February, it was then during my discussions with fellow stuntman Bryan Sloyer that he briefly mentioned taking interest in dabbling behind the camera for his own experimentation in the field of action direction. On Monday this week, netizens and action fans alike got a small glimpse of those newfound, early efforts in a brand new one-minute test fight featuring performances by Lance K. Jemison and Amy Sturdivant.

Chilean martial arts action superstar Marko Zaror has been one of the most influential cinematic performers of the past decade. And just after recently appearing opposite actor Danny Trejo in Machete Kills, it appears that the Undisputed 3 actor is ready to jump onto that very momentum he has earned since his early days as a stuntman and a trendsetting breakout action hero.

If you happen to be a fan of cinematic military-style action, combat, suspense and drama, then unless you've heard of independent filmmaker and series creator Frank T. Ziede's new webseries, Black, you may want to pay attention. Last year's successful crowdfunding and delivery of the first season for Ziede's new action series about a covert-ops team created in response to domestic terrorism, has earned fanwide approval of a second season with new and returning cast members led by actor and former Navy Seal veteran Mikal Vega. And as a result, the bar is now being raised for more action, longer episodes and all the necessary trimmings to further expand the scope of the Black universe.

Filipino martial arts have always been a tried and true application to martial arts action cinema, and such happens the case with the latest trailer for independent filmmaker Jelani Kim L. Maniago's upcoming dramatic action short, Eskrimador. Starring Chrisrian Paolo Lat, the new project started about a month and a half ago in collaboration with Maniago, as well as stuntfighter, performer and fight choreographer Eulver Presto, and a handful of other students from from the International Academy Of Film & Television near the city of Cebu.

From romance to comedy, light sabers to suit action, actor and filmmaker Fernando Huerto knows what his fanbase enjoys most. And if things continue to look up, then action fans and loyal followers of his independent production platform over at Jabronie Pictures may very well get to see some of those hopeful ideas manifest in his first-ever feature-length production, among other things.

Most Read Articles Of The Week

EXCLUSIVE: Emerging director, actor and martial artist Vincent Soberano is hot on the campaign trail for his current film slate this week in Beijing. With at least two of his upcoming releases now privately showcasing in Beijing for an audience comprised of major Hollywood and Chinese industry executives and distributors therein, it's a milestone to marvel at with Soberano now hailing as the first Filipino director to be privy to a screening of this kind.

Not for nothing either, as the footage speaks for itself and those who've seen last year's teaser trailer for Blood Hunters: Rise Of The Hybrids would likely stand in accordance. Since then, the eight-time world Muay Thai champion's craft behind the lens has only continued to grow and with none other than latest of one of the aforementioned two titles now readying for a local theatrical release this May with martial arts revenge thriller, The Trigonal: Fight For Justice. An underground fighting circuit run by an intern…

EXCLUSIVE: Muay Thai champion and emerging film multi-hyphenate, actor Vincent Soberano is on deck to add to his directing repetoire with least two big-budget films going forward: Action-packed high-seas military/naval techno-thriller, No Man's Waters, and romantic action comedy, Three Poles. The films will hail from Soberano's Cinefenio Film Studios, designated as co-productions with Origin Pictures Beijing, and a South Korean production company with the Philippines serving as a major production location with local film crews to be hired.
The news comes in the wake of a robust week for the Filipino filmmaker whose business in Beijing saw him host screenings for his two recently-completed titles, tournament revenge action thriller The Trigonal, and dystopian survival novel adaptation, We Are War. Both were showcased for a rousing audience of major distrubutors and executives, adding to a growing list of career milestone 'firsts' for a Filipino filmmaker, his latest de…

As expected, films like Blood Hunters: Rise Of The Hybrids and The Trigonal won't be the last we hear from director and actor Vincent Soberano. The emerging film talent on both sides of the lens is now taking an even greater stage in recent days with his work now central to the attention of a number of industry figures, one of which enlists his latest thriller, We Are War.
The film takes its cues from the work of writer and author Ruben Payan Jr. for a film set in 2029 as world governments collapse, and remnants of military might are deployed to Japan to seize control and ownership of what little remains of the world's purest natural resource: water. Soberano stars and is also joined by Liang Shih and Death Trance co-star Chuck Johnson.
Other news is seldom known about the film other than what we get to see with the earliest artwork, in addition to a first trailer which stops nothing short of impressive and as thrilling as one would hope for an actioner. It's a stirring …

Action star Sakaguchi Tak's Re:Born still stands as important subject matter of late. His forthcoming appearance at the Iron Dragon TV Action Fest this August is still a headturner and with none other than helmer longtime film partner, stunt multi-hyphenate and film director Shimomura Yuji joining him for the impeding festivities in Austin.
Many topics are sure to come up for curious onlookers as the film marks a stellar return to cinema for the cult favorite who shook the fandom with talk of retirement back in 2013. As it stands, that sudden pivot arose as a result of a dissolving toxic fallout with previous management which apparently forced Sakaguchi's career nearly into obscurity at the time, which makes Re:Born a more than welcome reception at home and overseas.
Moreover, fans can now possibly look toward the talk of Shimomura's latest acquisition, Crazy Musashi, designated as a 77-minute one-take film previously hailed as a pairing with film favorite Sono Sion unde…

The second season of Marvel's Jessica Jones was a great escape for the weekend. I'd also add Starz series, Spartacus and Korean miniseries Tong: Memories to the list. Matters pertaining to this week's entries for The Hit List were all the same and very much entertaining, stunt reels, projects and teasers therein.
The first of the three kicks off our weekly amalgam of gems as always and now with the stylings of stuntman Cameron Okubo, followed by Michael Bekemeier, Adam Shippey, Jonathan King, Heather Bonomo, Justin Fischer, Brandon Shaw, Justin Clarke, Jose Guns Alves, Kylie Riddle, Skyler Mowatt and stunt sibs David and Daren Nop showcasing their latest pairing in a work reel of their own. Rounding out the playlist in riproaring fashion with substance AND style are Bill Scharpf, and in good company with the forthcoming release of Mission: Impossible - Fallout, stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood!

Time to promote some things for you and first up are a trio of stills hailing ex…

Last year proved opportune with Southeast Asian regional VOD service HOOQ's in-house Filmmakers' Guild hosting an annual program for aspiring creatives. For this, leave it to Ario Sagantorio, noted producer of The Raid franchise, to invest in shepherding what would ultimately land as a HOOQ finalist with director Bobby Prabowo at the helm for his latest series investment, Heaven And Hell.
Actor Aufa Assagaf headlines a cast set in a tale of a man caught in a gang war with his father's life hanging in the balance and only one way to rise to the top of it all. Such is the narrative that joins Assagaf with Halfworlds series actress Salvita Decorte, and The Raid 2 co-stars Donny Alamsyah and Mike Lucock with a script by Eric Tiwa, and now accompanied in recent hours with a full minute teaser promo for the pilot which will air only on HOOQ at the end of next week throughout Southeast Asia.
Take a look below!

Fans of independent action cinema keen on following figures like stunt professionals Mitch Gould and Dan Southworth were rightly onto something since both appeared together in Isaac Florentine's U.S. Seals 2: The Ultimate Force. Both have flourished in the years since then in their crafts behind the lens and thus attributing their work now seen in Gould's solo directorial debut, Battle Drone, finally hitting Netflix and serving up a worthy piece of entertainment for select streaming audiences and action fans alike.
Bleach-blonde Louis Mandylor leads the sci-fi thriller as seasoned solider Rekker, a former military captain-turned-gun for hire whose dishonorable departure from the formalities of military service have all but re-calibrated his worldview and moral compass with more-than-enough shades of grey. His means of income enlists his employment with his own team of equally-skilled badass mercenaries to get off-the-radar jobs done for the CIA, no matter how dirty.
Actress D…

Select cast and crew members of upcoming action thriller, The Order, took to YouTube on Friday to give fans an update on the crowdfunded and hotly-anticipated feature length film. The video comes nearly two years since the production launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds to give the production the right jumpstart it needed prior to further development that would have hopefully seen cameras rolling by now. I'll leave it to you to watch the video for all the T's and I's otherwise crossed and dotted, but the gist of it is that according to actress and executive producer Karan Ashley, the team reportedly did everything by the book to see its house in order only to see their efforts cut short. A forced shutdown of the film ensued along with legal fees among other addenums that took a chunk out of the budget. Ashley does alert fans that this doesn't mark the end-all-be-all of the film's journey, with word that the film has since been in recovery mode as the team co…

Here's something to ponder this weekend: What lies ahead for Beyond Skyline director Liam O'Donnell with his next adventure? Such is cause to bring attention to The Last Savage for which O'Donnell's script was one of the three main winners during the IFFAM Project Market late last year curated by Todd Brown.
The synopsis alone reads plentily of what looks to be as spectacular a jungle survival revenge thriller that may very well read your mind of familiar movie titles before long. The director's own statement at the time also lends to that very notion next to the following premise and needless to say, if you're of my mind, I already know that you know you want this movie too. A cataclysmic flood leaves a boy stranded on a remote island where he’s raised by a family of tigers into Buas, a lethal savage. But Peyton, a high-tech hunter arrives and kills his adopted family before bringing the captured Buas to The Rig, an overpopulated steel island built atop drowne…

Independent film has always been a sprawling and vast field to cover. It's network is always in flux with various people connecting with others and collaborating; Following the work of Fernando Jay Huerto eventually brought me to the likes of actress, martial artist and musician, Jessica Wolff, who has shown immense screen caliber in numerous projects she's worked on. Such include sci-fi actioner, Fray and bloody revenge thriller, Eliza, the latter which staunchly remains one of the biggest jewels I've ever helped promote despite its current myopia. Its helmer, fellow Asian cinephile, Mikko Löppönen stands significantly as one of the best examples of contemporary action cinema today even in his current form. He's practical in his approach though, and quite modest despite having as much an interest as any passionate filmmaker. His vocation in action films came seldom with his own screentime than behind the lens, favorably. Primary visits to to the local video store and ab…